Brian Schmitt says he was taking leisurely walk through Brownstown Township woods when he stumbled across skull

Brian Schmitt stumbled upon evidence that would crack one of the biggest Metro Detroit mysteries wide open. At the time, he didn't even know it.

"It's amazing what you find in the woods if you pay attention," Schmitt said. "It was really unforeseen that I would look down and see a skull, a human skull."

Last month, Schmitt, a hunter who says he was out for a leisurely walk looking for deer antlers, was at a wooded area along Blakely, Clark, Marsh Creek in Brownstown Township when he found the skull. He snapped a picture and then drove straight to the Brownstown Township Police Department with the skull in his pickup truck.

"The detective seemed pleased. I actually escorted them to the spot where I found the skull," Schmitt said.

Detectives identified the skull as Lizzie Mae Collier-Sweet. The Brownstown Township woman went missing without a trace six years ago. Police always expected foul play and believed her husband, Roger Sweet, was somehow involved. However, numerous searches over the years always turned up empty.